Lighting conditions affect the quality of digital images taken by still and video cameras. Automatic exposure control of a camera is generally achieved by detecting the brightness of an object with a light metering device, determining an exposure value based on the object brightness and the sensitivity of the imaging system, and driving the diaphragm and the shutter according to the exposure value. However, in such cases where the exposure determination is based solely on the object brightness and the sensitivity of the imaging system, the resulting photographs often do not convey the appearance that the photographer intended to communicate. In addition, capturing an image of an object in the foreground under backlighting conditions can result in an object of interest appearing darker than the background. The details of the object on a captured image are consequently harder to view.